*Review* Nona's Nerves by Modello Brown

 Genre: Children's 3-8 years

Published: December 11, 2023

Pages: 30

Nona was excited!
She'd been practicing, you know.
Tomorrow was the annual
Littlewood Talent Show!

But when Nona's turn came…
Just before she went to sing…
Something stopped her in her tracks…
Her chest began to sting!

Nona had been feeling super-duper great about her singing all week.
But then she saw all the amazing things the rest of the Hip Hop Littles were doing...
She watched Wan share incredible photos…
She watched Zoey model fantastic outfits.
She watched Rain DJ, Alison dance, and Jordan Graffiti.

They were all so wonderful that she suddenly felt very anxious.
She didn't want to sing anymore.
What on Earth was she going to do?

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a fun little rhyming story about a school talent show that has Nona feeling very nervous. After all her friends perform their talents, she's too scared to take the stage herself, so her friends tell her about times when they felt nervous too, and that ultimately they didn't need to be nervous because everything turned out all right. 

While this story does technically rhyme, the cadence was a little odd at times, throwing off the flow for me. The illustrations were very colorful and bold, almost anime like. I would be okay reading this book a couple times, but the odd cadence with the rhyming would make me a little hesitant. Overall I give Nona's Nerves 3.8197 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

“I’m looking for a parent to say "I love these books, my kids love them, and all of the characters really teach kids positive behavior… Honestly, the true reward would be a kid saying they did something a certain way because of how one of my characters did it. At that point, I’ll know I've achieved exactly what I’m here for, my reason for writing.” – Modello Brown

AWARD WINNING! Author Modello Brown grew up in the Englewood district of Chicago, Illinois in the early 90s. Being the honest and direct person that he is, he is never afraid to talk about the rough upbringing that he experienced. However, he regards himself as lucky to have been saved by the magic of music and art.

He is passionate about creating ways to teach young people about values, self-belief, and self-worth. The Hip-Hop Little series is one of the ways he hopes to capture the imagination of those children who might feel like they don’t have many options in life, and to provide them with tools Modello did not have himself growing up.

He is also a person who really knows the value of hard work, and believes in his passion. Between creating Hip-Hop Little stories, he also spends his days working on animation. Disney has been a huge inspiration since he was little. An inspiration that has fueled the majority of his artistic pursuits ever since. He also finds time to look up and learn about art, read inspirational books, and drive a truck at night to make a living!

One of the most important elements of Hip-Hop Littles is giving kids role models. His hope is every child who reads his books will see themselves reflected in one of the characters. This will help them to realize that any problem they have, other kids have too. They are not alone. In turn, this should give them the confidence to be themselves and to share their feeling without fear of judgment.

Ultimately, the Hip-Pop Littles series is about entertaining kids whilst teaching them that being themselves is something to be celebrated.